Optimism
by EchowolfS
Summary: Kimora has had a rough life, but that doesn't keep him from staying optimistic. His mother has had some unstable jobs and a weird debt that brings some unfavorable people to their home, no matter how far they move away. When he turns fourteen, they move to San Campion. There, he finds that even if things get rough, there is always something to be happy about.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mai's Pov

"Bill, bill, bill…" I sighed, thumbing through the mail as usual. Things have really begun to stack up lately. My four jobs pay decently, but it isn't going to be nearly enough to pay back what I owe… Sometimes, I think I will have to go back home, with my head hung low and my tail between my legs, but I know I can never do that.

My parents would never take me back after what I have done to them. Especially when they find out what I did. I took in a breath and tried to hold back tears. Looking up at the clock, I realize I only have about an hour to shower and eat before going to work again.

 _It's too much…_ The desperate and sad voice in my head cried. _It's just too much._

My world almost always seemed on the brink of collapse. Always working, always moving… always fighting for survival in this disgustingly cruel world. Every time I saw a glimmer of hope, the tiniest light at the end of the tunnel, it was always ripped away from me.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I cupped my hands over my mouth and began to sob. I hate hearing myself cry. It is disgusting. These weren't the sobs of an overly stressed woman, these were the sobs of a pathetic girl who refused to listen to anything and ended up on the wrong side of everything.

"Mommy?" A tiny voice reached my ears and I stopped crying immediately.

"Yes, Ben?" I turned to my four year old son and put on my best smile.

"Don't be sad mommy. When I get bigger, I am gonna take care of you forever!" I looked into his big brown eyes and felt my heart swell.

Just when I am at my lowest, and the world seems hopeless, he always brightens my day… My little boy, Benjirou Kimora

Chapter 2

Kimora's Pov 6 years old

I hate it when mom yells. I can't stand seeing her angry, so I normally do whatever I can to keep her happy. I can't always keep her happy though, especially when these two guys come over. I have no idea why they keep coming over and calling, but I know that mom hates them.

Just before I went to sleep, I heard the doorbell ring. Mom, who was tucking me in turned quickly and looked a bit… scared?

It was a bit weird to have someone over so late, but any excuse to get out of bedtime was fine by me. I jumped out of bed to listen through the door as soon as she left, but I ran back to my bed as soon as the yelling began.

I hid under my covers until I heard a door slam shut, and the sound of muffled shouting. I guessed mom threw them out, so I ran out of my room to see her. When I found mom, she was curled in a ball and crying on the couch.

 _Those horrible people! How dare they make my mother cry!_ I thought to myself. If I was older, I would keep them from hurting her feelings and if they tried, they would be sorry.

I ran to her and hugged her as tightly as I could.

"Oh, Ben…" She sighed, pulling me into a hug.

8 years later

Just as I was about to go to sleep, I heard the doorbell ring. I am familiar with the type of people who come visit my mom at this time of the day. The type that come in and act like our house is theirs and make my mom angry.

Time and time again, mom tells me to just stay in my room and keep quiet while she handles them, but something felt strange this time. This time, I wasn't going to let them shout to my mother, no matter what I had to do.

My mom was the first to raise her voice, and when another, unfamiliar, voice shouted back, I threw my door open, and ran into the front room.

"Hey!" I shouted, getting the attention of the two rough looking men.

They were pretty intimidating, but I wasn't going to back down.

I charged one of the guys and knocked him down. The other grabbed me by my shirt and lifted me up with one hand. I tried to kick him, punch him, anything to get out of his grasp, but nothing was working. He threw me onto the couch, tipping it over and sending me into the kitchen table.

It seemed like I would never breathe again. All of the wind was forced out of my lungs and I couldn't take a breath for what seemed like minutes. Mom was by my side immediately, checking me over for injuries. When she touched my side, I screamed in pain.

I've seen my mother upset before. I've even seen her cry. But I have never seen her this angry. Her odd brown amber eyes seemed to glow as she whipped around to stare at the men.

"It's not my fault you're kid doesn't know respect." The one that threw me shrugged, a wicked smile played on his face. "You should really-"

He was cut off when mom punched him in the gut.

Now, I know my mother is a strong woman, even though she doesn't look like it. She is very thin and seems to be nothing but skin and bones, but she is still very fit. The men, on the other hand, seemed to be nothing but muscle. So, everyone but my mom was surprised when her punch sent him through the front of our house. My jaw dropped at how powerful she really was, and how she sent this huge man flying through the wall but there was something else. Something I thought I saw, but was gone not even a second after it happened. I could have sworn her skin turned red.

I didn't have the time to really think about it though, because then she turned to the other man, and in a powerful voice, she said, "Get out."

The guy scrambled to his feet only for my mom to trip him again. He scrambled on all fours and crawled out of our house to where his friend was lying on the street.

She walked over to me again and helped me up. After inspecting my side again, she said I had a bruised rib. She went to the freezer and pulled out an ice pack and instructed me to hold it there. I had no clue she knew anything about injuries or treating them.

She pushed the sofa back up and told me to sit and rest while she dealt with the hole in the wall. I watched as she got some duct tape and began to cut up some trash bags. She then taped the bags over the hole as best she could, and plopped down on the sofa next to me.

"… So, I guess we're gonna be moving again?" I asked. I mentally smacked myself for not asking a better question.

"Yep. I can't pay to fix it." She sighed.

"Where will we go?" I know we've always been unstable, so I was a bit worried. "Well, I'm sure anywhere will be great, but where will we move?"

"Probably an apartment again." She ruffled my hair. "And I'm sure anywhere will be better than here."

"This house isn't too bad…" I tried to be cheery, but combined with the limited space, disgusting trash dump of a back yard from the previous owners, and the less than friendly neighbors, anywhere would be better.

"Don't worry. If we need to, I have some friends who will be able to help us out."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kimora's Pov

The move turned out better than both of us could have hoped. We weren't in a house, but the apartment was nice and there were other teens my age living in our building. Mom also was able to keep her best paying job and pick up two more with ease.

"I've got friends everywhere around here, so getting jobs will be a breeze." She said happily.

It's good to see her so happy again. She never seemed to be happy in any of the other places we lived, but whenever there was an opportunity to live in San Campion, she always jumped at it.

I'm glad she's so happy here, but I never really liked San Campion. It's tough to find friends and keep them, and there are snotty rich kids all over the place who think they are better than everyone else.

Even though we lived in a horrible neighborhood before, it was easier making friends over there than it is here.

It was about a month after we moved to our new apartment when Mom decided to take a day off and hang out with me.

"I'm gonna show you the best places around to meet people and have some fun!" She sounded so excited.

"Cool! How do you know so much about San campion though?" I asked.

"I never told you, did I? Well, I've lived here since I was your age. I moved away just before you were born. So, these are my old stomping grounds. Some things have change since then, but the town's still basically the same." No wonder she was so comfortable around the city.

"Really? So is that why you have so many friends here?"

"Yep! You'll get to meet some of them soon."

Soon ended up being way sooner than expected. We literally turned a corner and was nearly taken out by another woman who was about the same age as her. The woman took a moment, and then jumped forwards and gave my mother a big hug.

"Mai, what are you doing here?!" The woman cried.

"I'm back, Tierra. Hopefully to stay." Mom laughed.

My mom and I have been on our own for so long, it was weird to see her talk to someone else so easily. Like she had nothing to worry about. There seemed to be no secrets between her and the other woman. They spoke loudly and freely. And that made me happy.

"So, are you gonna tell me who this kid is?" Tierra asked.

"Tierra, this is my son, Benjirou." Mom rested her hands on my shoulders and pushed me towards her.

"Hi." I waved shyly.

"He's the spitting image of his father." Tierra commented, extending her hand to me. "It's nice to meet you Benjirou."

I shook her hand. "You can call me Ben." I paused for a moment, gathering courage to ask my next question. "You knew my father?"

Tierra shot a look to my mother, who nodded with a sad smile. "Yeah. We worked together for a long time."

"Does he live around here?" I asked, suddenly very curious about this woman and who she was to my family.

Now both looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, he doesn't anymore."

An unsettling quiet surrounded us. Tierra broke it. "So, are you taking him to the dojo?"

"Yes. It will be a good way for him to make friends." My curiosity was once again roused as the three of us began to walk down the street. "It's great to be around friends again."

I kept to myself the rest of the walk though. Mom and Tierra continued to talk and catch up with each other, and didn't notice as I began to fall behind. I was happy for mom, really, but I was never good at making friends. Going to a dojo sounded really cool, but I'm not sure I would fit in with the other kids.

When we arrived at the dojo, Tierra led us straight through to the back of the studio. She punched a code into what looked like some kind of security system, but then a mirror disappeared next to it.

Mom and Tierra smiled at me, and I followed them through the mirror into a tunnel. When the tunnel opened up, I was left stunned. Underneath a freaking dojo studio in the middle of a city is A TEMPLE?! WHAT?! When- no, how… Wow do I have some questions for my mother, and whoever built this thing.

Mom sucked in a deep breath, and laughed. "Man, it's good to be back!"

"It's good to finally have you back." Tierra placed a hand on mom's shoulder and smiled. Then, she looked down to me. "And I know you will have a great time here as well."

* * *

Sorry this chapter took so long. I may or may not have forgotten about it… But anyways, I know Kimora's introduction to Kaijudo isn't as exciting as the three kids or Nadia's, but oh well. I promise that I will do better writing chapters for this story, at the minimum there will be one chapter a month, and the story is going to pick up after this one.

Also, I just want to say that some of what happens in Loyalties and Optimism tie in with Kaijudo: Rebellion of the duel masters, and both Duel master backstories also have some intersecting moments.

Again, sorry for taking so long, and I hope you like it!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mom had to pull me farther into the temple because of how blown away I was. Tierra joked that it was understandable to have such a reaction. How could it not be? I mean, there's a giant temple under a freaking dojo!

It felt like everything I was being told was going in one ear and out the other. Tierra and Mai introduced me to the masters, I passed some sort of entrance exam, and now I'm being led around by a very pretty adept. This is way too much.

"Okay, this is the library." Joanna led me into a large space.

"Cool! What are the little fish there?" I asked, kneeling down to get a closer look.

Joanna grabbed my arm and pulled me up. "Wait!" Staring at her in shock, I felt my face turn red. "Those things are dangerous. All creatures are dangerous no matter how big or small they are."

"But they are hardly longer than my finger. How dangerous can they be?"

"Dangerous enough to take one's memories." A sudden voice made me jump. Whipping around, I saw a red haired man in blue robes.

I kind of remember him. He was the water master. I can't remember his name though. "Uhh…"

"Leading the new acolyte around, Joe?" The master asked the girl, she nodded. "Be sure to show him the off limits area. We don't want him to get hurt here, do we?"

The water master began to creep me out. Joanna, simply nodded her head again and led me out of the library.

"Creepy, isn't he?" Joanna asked suddenly. We had gone through most of the tour in complete silence. She only spoke when telling me what was what.

"Yeah, what's his deal?" I asked.

"No one really knows. He acts like that around new acolytes, and then he's fine. I think he does it to intentionally creep people out." She smiled.

"I've been around him for only five minutes and I can already tell he would be the kind of person to do that." I grinned.

"So, that's pretty much it for the tour." She stopped, stretching her arms up.

"What? Aren't you going to show me the off limits areas?" I joked.

"Nope!" She smiled. "You will find out about those areas just like the rest of us did. By getting in trouble for going there."

"Jee, thanks. So, how long have you been at the temple?" If I was going to make friends here, might as well start trying now.

"Two years. I'm an adept now. Been one for just over a year." She replied. Apparently becoming an adept is a big thing. She looks so proud, even though she's been one for a while.

"So, what are all the titles in the temple? I know there's Master, Adept, and Acolyte. Are there any others?"

"Yeah. It goes acolyte, adept, specialist, then if you're lucky, master. If you're super lucky, you're asked to join some special group and get the title guard or blacksmith. You're mom's a guard actually, and so is my mentor, Celeste." Joanna explained.

"Will I get a mentor?" I asked.

"Probably not. Outposts usually have mentors and apprentices. The temple has all five duel masters so they usually collectively train us. Celeste is my mentor because I was having some problems. She had to go through this big process with the masters, and now I'm strictly her apprentice."

"Problems?" I did _not_ mean to say that out loud. She blushed and turned away. "I'm sorry. You don't need to tell me anything. I- I don't even want to know- not that I don't care, but…" I had to slap my hand over my mouth to stop myself.

"No, no. It's okay. I understand. You'll find out anyways, so it's no big deal." She kept her back turned to me, but bent down and pulled up her left pant leg. To my surprise, there was a metal bar under it, and I began to understand.

"Oh, you're an amputee?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just below the knee. I have a mentor because she is helping me duel with my stupid prosthetic." She finally turned back to me. "I have to let everyone at the temple know so they can help me if I need it. I'm not even allowed to summon a tiny creature without someone else here."

"But I thought you said every creature is dangerous. Even one as small as your finger." I teased, trying to bring a smile to her face.

She cracked a small smile. "True."

"Joe?" A voice called out from behind us.

Both of us turned. A very pretty woman with caramel skin and curly blonde hair was walking up to us.

"Benjirou, this is Celeste, my personal mentor." Joanna introduced as the woman reached us.

"You're Mai's son, right?" Celeste askes, reaching out her hand.

"Yes, please call me Ben though." I shook her hand. "Joanna just showed me around."

"Hey, call me Joe, okay?" Joanna cut in.

"Okay, Ben." Celeste gave me a kind smile. "It's great to have you here. We need more duelists now than ever before."

"What's wrong? Is something happening?" I asked.

Joe let out a sigh. "A bunch of duelists have been going missing. No one knows what's happening to them. They show up one day, and then never come back. We have records of where every duelist lives, and whenever we check their homes, they aren't there."

"Oh…" I trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Listen now, don't let that scare you off alright?" Celeste placed a hand on my shoulder. "This is taking all of the master's attention at the moment, so the disappearances should be settled soon enough. With the masters distracted, we have to handle veil breaches."

"Right." Joe scoffed. "The masters haven't done anything yet. Thirteen people are gone and there is no evidence whatsoever as to why they're missing!"

"Joanna!" Celeste scolded.

Joe was quiet for a moment, then she lowered her head. "I'm sorry, it's just…"

"I'm not going to lie and say neither of you should be concerned, but whatever happens will happen. Thirty good people work in this temple, and they would all give their lives for both of you. Remember that." Celeste stood there for a moment, and then left.

The idea of people randomly disappearing was without a doubt frightening, but there was nothing anyone could do at this point.

"Hey, Joe?" I called to her, ready to get rid of this freaked out atmosphere. She looked up at me. "I seriously just moved here two days ago, would you mind showing me around San Campion some time as well?"

She looked up finally and smiled. "No problem. Maybe we could do it tomorrow?"

"Sure!" I replied, happy to see her at least distracted. "We can meet up here after school. Tomorrow will be my first day."

"What school are you going to?" She asked.

"San Campion High."

"Awesome! That's where I go!" She jumped up. "I can show you around there as well and introduce you to some people. Wait, what grade are you?"

"I'll be a freshman."

"Well, I'm a sophomore, but that's okay. You'll be my personal freshman!" She grinned.

"Personal freshman?" I blinked.

"It's a silly claiming thing at school. Normally upperclassmen do it. I was claimed by two juniors and a sophomore last year. They "shared" me. But not you. You're all mine!" She laughed in a mock evil tone.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" I jokingly challenged.

"Nope, you don't have a choice. I shall call you Squishy and you shall be mine!"

"Really? A Nemo reference?" I asked.

"Yep!" She turned and began to skip away.

"Wait a sec!" I began to follow her. She laughed and began to run. I chased after her, but I'm not much of a runner. Joe, on the other hand, ran like freaking lightning. "This isn't over!"

"Yes it is!" She called back in a sing song voice.

At first I wasn't so sure Joe liked me, but now… I think this is going to be the start of a _beautiful_ friendship.


End file.
